Iceland on Friday denied a request by property tycoon Huang Nubo to purchase a 300-square-kilometre (200-square-mile) swathe of land in the northern part of the island for a tourist resort.

“The denial reflects the unjust and parochial investment environment facing private Chinese enterprises abroad,” Huang, founder of property company Zhongkun Group, said in an interview with the official China Daily newspaper.

Huang had asked the Iceland government in late August for permission to buy the land for $10 million, with plans to invest about $200 million to build a resort in the Icelandic wilderness.

Some Icelandic observers had suggested Huang’s purchase could help China get a foothold in the Arctic region for energy resources and shipping, amid predictions the melting ice cap will make oil and gas deposits more accessible.